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Double Bass NEW Euphonic Audio iAMP Doubler

#521
I spent some time last night going through my computer files. I host a jazz jam at my house weekly and most of the time record everything through my protools LE system.

As far as bass tracks go I've just about tried everything, using the DI on my Doubler sounded terrible and nothing like what I hear coming out of the amp. As I've mentioned earlier I run my AMT through a Millennia TD1 into protools. I've played with the location quite a bit and came across a night recently where I placed the mic where Rufus does on the Evolving bassist video. On the E string side, clamp on the outer part of the lower bout and the mic is about 2 inches off the top just inside and below the lowest part of the F hole. My bass is a Kolstein Hybrid and set up with Spirocores and it sounds wonderful. Intonation and lame lines aside...

I will try to bounce that file to an MP3 this week and post it up in a new thread. The reason I post this in the doubler thread is that I can not replicate that tone with the mic through any amp or speaker cabinet. But it is fairly close to what I hear using the planet pickup through the doubler and VL208....
 
#522
Forgive me if this has been covered in here somewhere; I haven't read every single post.

Has anyone compared the Doubler to the Iamp 800? I'm very happy with the sound I get using my 800 into either a VL208 or M-line 12, however, if I could get the same sound out of a much, much smaller head, my back and arms would be oh, so grateful.

I'm currently using a Planet Wing pick-up directly into the 800, but in the past I've also had very good results with the Schertler Dyn-B and pre-amp, once again, going directly into the 800.

Any thoughts or opinions would be welcome. Thanks in advance.
 
#523
MLysh said:
Forgive me if this has been covered in here somewhere; I haven't read every single post.

Has anyone compared the Doubler to the Iamp 800? I'm very happy with the sound I get using my 800 into either a VL208 or M-line 12, however, if I could get the same sound out of a much, much smaller head, my back and arms would be oh, so grateful.

I'm currently using a Planet Wing pick-up directly into the 800, but in the past I've also had very good results with the Schertler Dyn-B and pre-amp, once again, going directly into the 800.

Any thoughts or opinions would be welcome. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I own the new IAMP Pro and did own an IAMP350 a few years ago. The tone profile of the IAMPs are pretty similar be it the new one is noise free. That tone is different enough from the Doubler to be worth mentioning, not sure if it would be a positive or negative in your case...
 
#525
I just brought one back from Cincinnati, and it's still in the box. I've got some gigs this weekend though, and I'll let you know!
(It's a sad sign of my life that when I get new gear it often sits unopened for several days before I even get five minutes to play with it. That never used to be the case!)
 
#526
Jeremy Allen said:
I just brought one back from Cincinnati, and it's still in the box. I've got some gigs this weekend though, and I'll let you know!
(It's a sad sign of my life that when I get new gear it often sits unopened for several days before I even get five minutes to play with it. That never used to be the case!)
Click to expand...

Amen to that. We gettin' ODE, bro.
 
#528
Anyone notice a difference in overall volume between 110 and 220 volts? Just played two gigs in Israel. First gig was at 110 with a transformer. Tonight they had a crappy little transformer for a shaver. So I took the top off and switched the jumper to 220. Same speaker cab, similar club size. I had to run the preamp section a lot higher to get the same volume. Still sounded great, but the yellow input light was blinking occaisionally where it's never before. I;ve got 3 weeks in France, so I'll try it both ways.
Still sounds great, though (even through a GK 410---eeeewwww)
 
#530
OK, I played my first gig with the Doubler on Thursday. It was in a room where I often play, a room in which it is very difficult to get a good sound from amplifiers and in which I've played a great number of amp/speaker combinations (Walter Woods, two Acoustic Images, Iamp 800, Eden WT400, Aguilar AG500, GK microbass, Carvin B1500, Henriksen JazzAmp, two different Demeter preamps, a Kern, an Avalon U5, and a Read Purity w/power amp, and Summit Audio preamps + Berg IP112; through two different Wizzy 12s, Acme Low B2, Flite 1X12, Aguilar GS112 and DB112, Berg HT115, two different Berg HT112s, and a Dr. Bass 1x15) so I know how the room sounds.

The short answer is that I am extremely pleased with the Doubler. I used it just with a pickup (Realist), and the sound that came across in my living room as bitingly clean proved to be simply lovely and supportive in the live situation. I was actually prepared to be happy with the Doubler, given its power and features, even if the sound was simply "OK" or just a little bit more pleasing than the AI amps; but in truth the sound quality blew me away. Standing next to my cab (Berg HT112), I kept marvelling that it sounded so glowing and warm and deep.

My reference point for great tone in that room, according to my ears and those of listeners whom I trust, is a combination of Summit 2BA-221 and TD100 into a Bergantino IP112. Unbelievable tone! Well, this is the only amp that has come close to that response in that room, and it came pretty close indeed. The IP112 setup had $1100 worth of preamps in the front end with nary a tone knob, HPF, or even master volume control in sight; for $750, the Doubler almost gets you to the same place, with a power section and a slew of functions and a much simpler footprint/setup to boot.

Listening to the recording from that night, the tone I hear is actually not that different in quality from what I've before from many of the other amps I've used in there. The most significant thing is that there is something missing from the amplified sound, some kind of unpleasantness which becomes more prevalent as you turn the master volume up more and more. It's this unpleasantness that gradually creeps up on me over the course of a gig and makes me want to just put the bass down by the end of the night when I'm playing with loud groups. The fact that this doesn't happen with the Doubler is, for me, almost the most valuable thing about it.

I'll chime in some more when I do other stuff with it. I played bass guitar through it at a rehearsal last night, and while it sounded wonderful I did find myself thinking "this is a 550 watt amp...?" I understand about the whole volume knob thing, the way it's linear instead of front-loaded or whatever, and honestly I will not need this amp for super loud situations anyway. Guess that volume knob will take some getting used to.
 
#531
to Mike: i live in France and first time i used the Doubler i had to rotate the trim at maximum to make (only occasionally and only on E string) flash the yellow light.
And this is possible only if i rotate also the gain knob on 2oclock or more.
I tried to do as the manual says (turn the trimmer until the light flashes with gain knob on 12oclock) but its not possible.
I just use it this way (trim at maximum) and it sounds very good.
 
#533
Richard Simon said:
Does this euphoria over the Doubler mean that the Genz-Benz is a lesser amp?
Also: the GB 6 I tested emitted the continuous, somewhat disquieting sound of its fan whirring. Should that be worrying?
Click to expand...

I've never played one of the Shuttles, but it seems that they were created for a different purpose than the Doubler. I've heard the GB heads sound good, though.

The Doubler also has a fan which whirrs away. It is quite subtle, though, especially in comparison to the fans on the Henriksen Jazzamp and the Carvin B1500 (now THAT'S a fan).
 
#534
I've experimented a lot with gain settings and have come to the following conclusions:

  • The bigger the gain into the amp, the better, so make sure you have your trim pots turned up full on/in your instrument if you have them.
  • The trim pot setting seems to be more critical to getting the most volume out of the amp than the input gain knob. Get this right, with the gain knob set at noon, and this is as loud as you're going to get.
  • Set the trim by making the input signal clip through playing the bass really hard, and then just roll it off a touch.

I hope this helps.

Gareh
 
#535
Jeremy Allen said:
I've never played one of the Shuttles, but it seems that they were created for a different purpose than the Doubler. I've heard the GB heads sound good, though.

The Doubler also has a fan which whirrs away. It is quite subtle, though, especially in comparison to the fans on the Henriksen Jazzamp and the Carvin B1500 (now THAT'S a fan).
Click to expand...

Wondering for what "different purpose" are the Doubler and the Benz Shuttle.
If I am not at all a Doubler - i.e., playing Upright only - should I not want the EA?
For my purpose - I want the amp that doesn't get uglier as it gets louder - which of the two would be the wiser choice, please?
 
#536
Richard Simon said:
Wondering for what "different purpose" are the Doubler and the Benz Shuttle.
If I am not at all a Doubler - i.e., playing Upright only - should I not want the EA?
For my purpose - I want the amp that doesn't get uglier as it gets louder - which of the two would be the wiser choice, please?
Click to expand...


Well, the Shuttle does not seem to made for the purpose of allowing a double bassist to plug a microphone straight into it, use a notch filter to eliminate feedback, mix in the signal from a pickup while adjusting the phase between the two inputs, or use two channels for two different instruments or pickups. And the Doubler does not seem to be made for someone who wants a tube in the preamp stage and semi-parametric EQ and some handy EQ presets.

I don't think the Shuttle was at all made with the double bass in mind. But it's not like amps have to be made "for the double bass" or "for the bass guitar," and I'm sure you could have fun with either one. If you only play upright, though, it seems like the Doubler is the better choice, if only for the filter and the piezo-friendly input impedance.

Since I've never played a Shuttle, I don't know if gets uglier as it gets louder, as the Doubler seems NOT to do. But the only amps I've played that exhibited this positive quality are the Doubler, the Walter Woods, and the combination of Summit Audio preamps, all are which were either designed with the double bass in mind or simply with a focus on high-quality audio from any source, as opposed to coming specifically from bass guitar.
 
#537
Richard Simon said:
Wondering for what "different purpose" are the Doubler and the Benz Shuttle.
If I am not at all a Doubler - i.e., playing Upright only - should I not want the EA?
For my purpose - I want the amp that doesn't get uglier as it gets louder - which of the two would be the wiser choice, please?
Click to expand...


Hey Richard,

I actually bought a used Shuttle due to our last conversation and independent research (i tried one of my students). I got a screaming deal on a used one. Only tried it a few times with an EA M-line and it is really nice. I am going straight in w/a Full Circle. The EQ is great. Much better than AI. I am still looking at the Doubler too as I do like to plug in a mic sometimes for "special" gigs. In previous conversations I was NOT keen on the AI heads as I found I could only get a sound I liked by plugging in a mic and mixing and it became too much of a hassle. I am really interested in Jeremy's posts (thanks Jeremy) as the option of plugging and playing 90% and using an extra mic 10% sounds like the bees knees and an option I was unhappy with with AI.

OTOH, the Shuttle is really well voiced for double bass. Not too many trying it around here (on the upright side) but it has really nice punch and huge amounts of warmth that can easily be dialed in or out. Reading between the lines, the Shuttle I am guessing is a bit louder as well. It's really nice (and costly) to have all of the small, powerful, light weight options.
 
#538
RShew said:
Hey Richard,

I actually bought a used Shuttle due to our last conversation and independent research (i tried one of my students). I got a screaming deal on a used one. Only tried it a few times with an EA M-line and it is really nice. I am going straight in w/a Full Circle. The EQ is great. Much better than AI. I am still looking at the Doubler too as I do like to plug in a mic sometimes for "special" gigs. In previous conversations I was NOT keen on the AI heads as I found I could only get a sound I liked by plugging in a mic and mixing and it became too much of a hassle. I am really interested in Jeremy's posts (thanks Jeremy) as the option of plugging and playing 90% and using an extra mic 10% sounds like the bees knees and an option I was unhappy with with AI.

OTOH, the Shuttle is really well voiced for double bass. Not too many trying it around here (on the upright side) but it has really nice punch and huge amounts of warmth that can easily be dialed in or out. Reading between the lines, the Shuttle I am guessing is a bit louder as well. It's really nice (and costly) to have all of the small, powerful, light weight options.
Click to expand...

Roger,
You, Jeremy et al (if he's listening) are benevolent bass brothers for sharing all your insights and impressions.
Am zeroing in on a deal for the Shuttle 6 plus their 12, and later maybe adding a Bergantino 12, sans tweeter, for those loud jobs.
For now, that'll have to do, money-wise.
It'd be nice to have the Doubler and dabble with mics - and have a shoe tree of these wonderful amps.
I know that the Underwood pickup is less than ideal, but I'm a basic plug-and-player, and I've been disappointed by my Schaller, Shertler, Wilson, Realist and Fishman fishing expeditions.
 

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